Hunter faces misdemeanor for taking 2 moose

A hunter from Meridian was cited with a misdemeanor after killing two bull moose in the Upper Pack River area of Boundary County on Friday.

Game officials determined Rich Wahlers made a mistake.

“He shot one and it ran into the brush,” said Tom Whalen, a conservation officer with Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Bonner County. “He saw another one, which he thought was the same, according to his statement, and shot the second one.”

“He recognized his mistake and called in from the hillside,” Whalen continued.

The moose were found dead, about 120 yards apart from each other. The moose were relatively similar in size.

Wahlers was cited with violating a commission regulation.

“We use that to recognize he made an honest mistake,” Whalen said.

Wahlers kept the one moose, and the other was taken to a meat processing facility and could possibly go to a food bank. Fish and Game hopes to recover the cost of the processing through Wahlers.